Father Of My Children

When we watch an independent/low budget/foreign film, do we give a thought about how it came into being? (do we actually care?) Maybe we should, especially after watching Father of My Children inspired as it is by the suicide of European producer Humbert Balsan. His fictional counterpart Gregoire is a charming, cultured family man, delighting his children with the history of the Templars or elucidating the meaning of a Ravenna mosaic ceiling. He's also a man forever on his mobile phone whether he's at home, on holiday or driving in his car (worringly he can juggle two cigarettes *and* a phone and drive using no hands at all) It's no suprise either that he gets stopped for both speeding and not wearing a seatbelt and then informed that he has no points left to lose on his license. One has the impression these minor details simply don't register amid the larger picture of being a film producer. Movie making fills almost every waking hour: the financing, organization, trouble-shooting and nurturing of projects. However, it soon becomes clear that Moon Films is in deep trouble. It's heavily in debt and struggling to finish existing productions, particularly a Swedish film helmed by an egomaniac "genius". The first half of the film is fascinating in its portrayal of the high pressure world of a small film company, and builds towards a point of no return for both man and company. The second half deals with the aftermath. Widow and children have to come to terms with their grief, while Sylvia also has to deal with the winding up of her husband's beloved Moon Films. In some ways this is as tragic as the human loss - the films never to be made, the careers never to flourish. The clear implication is that international cinema will be poorer without it, despite the films not being financially successful and only finding limited audiences. Those who connect with such films connect with a passion equal to Gregoire's and ironically after his death one film *does* become a hit, but it's too little, too late. Admittedly this is probably a film for film lovers i.e. the sort who might enjoy the films Gregoire produced but it's beautifully and affectingly acted and any film that starts with Jonathan Richman's Egyptian Reggae gets my vote every time.